Tim Cook: I've Given Up Physical Keyboards, Use iPad "80% of the Time"

macrumors bot

As part of its teaser for tonight's Rock Center interview with Apple CEO Tim Cook, NBC has released a clip with Cook talking about the virtual keyboard built into the iPhone and the iPad. He suggests that Brian Williams should stick with it and trust the autocorrect feature in iOS.

Cook says that he does spend time on the Mac but spends 80% of his time on the iPad. "And of course" Cook says, "I have [my iPhone] with me all the time."

​

Cook also shares that he gets many emails from customers and loves it because "they talk to you as if you're sitting at their kitchen table." He does share that he sometimes "gets an earful" from dissatisfied customers.

macrumors 6502a

macrumors 6502

The virtual keyboard on the iPad is decent, but I feel a lot more productive when working on a physical keyboard. There is no way I can type an 1000 word essay on an iPad
By the way, I hated the auto-correcting feature on my iPhone and iPad.

macrumors member

macrumors 603

Sure - virtual keyboards are fine for web browsing and the odd email - but dont go overboard - anything else and they are PITA, especially for touch typists. Firstly they need tactile feedback. On a physical keyboard I know if I've typed the wrong letter - cant do that on iPad without looking.

macrumors regular

its shocking how many people i know that can't properly type on iPhone keyboards because they don't "trust it" and let it autocorrect in order to type quickly. apple should really consider building in some kind of tutorial.

macrumors 6502

The virtual keyboard on the iPad is decent, but I feel a lot more productive when working on a physical keyboard. There is no way I can type an 500 word essay on an iPad
By the way, I hated the auto-correcting feature on my iPhone and iPad.

Click to expand...

Wow a 500 word essay? Is that the demands of the US education system today

macrumors 6502

WTF? Tim is saying that the iPad and iPhone are fine for 80% of what users need to do? This is a sure sign that Apple plans to discontinue its Mac line, except for maybe one model, which no doubt will start at $3,000. Greedy bas***ds! Apple is doomed. I'm switching back to Windows PCs before it's too late!

[Obligatory emoticon for people who don't read my opening line and think I'm serious]

macrumors 65816

Its all about learning to trust auto-correct. It fixes things most of the time. Just have to keep typing and let it do it's thing. It's MUCH slower to go back and correct your mistakes. Even if it doesn't correct them, it's still quicker to tap the word when you're done and choose the correct spelling than going back and fixing it at the time. People are always amazed when I bang out +70 words a minute on my iPhone or iPad. Once you get use to it, it's just as fast as on a physical keyboard.

macrumors 6502a

WTF? Tim is saying that the iPad and iPhone are fine for 80% of what users need to do? This is a sure sign that Apple plans to discontinue its Mac line, except for maybe one model, which no doubt will start at $3,000. Greedy bas***ds! Apple is doomed. I'm switching back to Windows PCs before it's too late!

[Obligatory emoticon for people who don't read my opening line and think I'm serious]

macrumors member

Guess it all depends on what you want to achieve. Virtual keyboards such as those on iPad and iPhone are great for web surfing or quick emails and other simple tasks. But try content creation like coding or writing a paper. Then, as others have already mentioned, the larger size and tactile feedback aspects of keyboards make a big difference to productivity. For those of us who sit in front of computers a large portion of the day physical keyboards aren't about to go away.

macrumors newbie

Guest

He suggests that Brian Williams should stick with it and trust the autocorrect feature in iOS.

Click to expand...

After viewing the clip, I think it's pretty apparent that Brian Williams was speaking on behalf of a larger audience and not himself. To indicate that Mr. Williams asked for any sort of personal assistance or tips is rather misleading, IMO.

macrumors regular

macrumors 603

He probably still has a secretary to type his e-mails on a computer that's why 80% share for iPad sounds reasonable. Otherwise, if I was AAPL shareholder I would be really concerned that "my" CEO is not using the most productive available tools for the job (which is a desktop computer - when in the office - and a laptop - on the go)

MacRumors attracts a broad audience
of both consumers and professionals interested in
the latest technologies and products. We also boast an active community focused on
purchasing decisions and technical aspects of the iPhone, iPod, iPad, and Mac platforms.